His Secretary's Little Secret. Catherine Mann
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Trapped with the boss...and now she’s pregnant! Only from USA TODAY bestselling author Catherine Mann!
Millionaire scientist Easton Lourdes has always preferred wildlife over weddings. But when the sexy bachelor is stranded by a hurricane with his prim-and-proper secretary, the raging storm isn’t the only thing that’s out of control. Now Portia Soto is pregnant with his child—and determined to keep things professional until she earns enough money to pay off her brother’s debts. But can she keep her secret that long? Especially when it becomes clear that Easton will stop at nothing to get her back into his bed...
The taste of Easton tantalized her senses, intoxicating and arousing all at once in a double dose of what Portia remembered from their passionate encounter the night of the tropical storm.
A night she hadn’t spoken of since then.
His hand palmed her back and he drew her closer until they were chest to chest. With a will of their own, her fingers crawled up his hard-muscled arms to grip his wide shoulders.
She’d slept with him. She knew the full extent of his appeal, so she couldn’t figure out why a simple kiss could turn her so inside out. Okay, not a simple kiss, because nothing with Easton was ever uncomplicated.
Still, how could her body betray her so, especially after what he’d said about not wanting children? As quickly as that thought hit her, she shut it down again. She’d ached to be in his arms for so long, she was a total puddle of hormones in need of an outlet.
In need of him.
Now.
* * *
His Secretary’s Little Secret is part of The Lourdes Brothers of Key Largo duet— In the wilds of Florida, two wealthy brothers meet the women who will capture their hearts!
His Secretary’s Little Secret
Catherine Mann
USA TODAY bestselling and RITA® Award–winning author CATHERINE MANN has penned over fifty novels, released in more than twenty countries. After years as a military spouse moving around the country bringing up four children, Catherine has settled in her home state of South Carolina. The nest didn’t stay empty long, though, as Catherine is an active member of the board of directors for the Sunshine State Animal Rescue. For more information, visit www.catherinemann.com.
To my animal rescue pals everywhere—especially
Virginia, Sharon and Tiffany. You bring such
talent, joy and support to this emotional journey!
Contents
Portia Soto’s mama always said doctors didn’t grow on trees. That an exotic name couldn’t make up for her plain looks. And to count her blessings if she got a proposal from a podiatrist twice her age.
Clearly, Portia’s mama hadn’t counted on her daughter ever sitting beneath a towering palm watching Dr. Easton Lourdes hang upside down by his knees as he tried to save an ivory-billed woodpecker. An endangered species and thus warranting the wildlife preserve veterinarian’s full attention. Which was convenient, since that meant he wouldn’t notice he’d totally captured Portia’s.
Between the branches of the ancient black mangrove, small stars winked into her vision, the lingering violet of sunset fading into black. The moments just after sunset in the wildlife preserve were Portia’s favorite. Night birds trilled overlapping tunes through the dense, steamy woods. Everything seemed somehow prettier, more lush and flamboyant in the absence of sunlight—the preserve transformed into a decadent Eden. At night, the place was a mysterious beauty, far more enticing than Portia had ever considered herself to be.
Except she didn’t feel much like herself when she was around Dr. Lourdes.
To be frank, Easton was hot. Really hot. Sexy in a shaggy-haired, unconventional way. An extremely wealthy heir to a family fortune, and a genius veterinarian with a specialty in exotic animals.
He also happened to be the unsuspecting father of Portia’s unborn baby, thanks to one impulsive night during a tropical storm nearly two months ago.
In the time that had passed since their unplanned hookup, she’d done her best to put their relationship back on a professional level, to safeguard her hard-won space and independence. A task that had been increasingly difficult to stick to, what with him casting steamy, pensive looks her way when he thought she wasn’t aware.
But wow, was she ever aware of him. Always.
So apparently, for Portia, doctors did grow on trees. But that didn’t stop the chaos overtaking her life in spite of her best efforts to carefully organize and control her world. She wanted to figure out her plan for the future before she told her onetime lover about their baby. But she was running out of time.
They’d had an impulsive encounter during the stress and fear of being in close quarters